Carpenters, electricians, and other workmen typically have a need for a device that allows a tool to be carried on their person in such a fashion that the tool is easily accessible yet secure. A tool holder can provide hands-free support of a tool such as a hammer, allowing a workman to complete various tasks for which the tool may be handy yet not necessary at all times. The tool holder additionally permits a tool to be transported as a workman moves from one task to the next.
It is desirable to have a tool holder that is easy to manufacture, and provides a workman with good value. Such a tool holder should be inexpensive and durable. The tool holder should be light and compact.
As typical tool holders must attach to a belt for convenient use by a workman, several solutions to this problem are known. For instance, a slotted support pad with a cradle-like collar, such as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,461, is known for holding a hammer. A waist belt fits through the slots, thereby securing the pad to the person wearing the belt. A slotted support pad with a rotatable holder is also known, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,667, which secures the head of a hammer, and is also taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,468 which additionally has spring-biased retention gates on the tool support.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,326,887 teaches a tool carrier which clips to EL user's belt. The carrier is formed from a single length of wire which is bent to form arms for supporting a hammer. The ends of the wire are also bent to provide spring clips which attach to the belt. The clips, however, have rounded terminals that extend behind the belt and create concentrated pressure points against the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,705 teaches a storage device for clipping onto a belt. Hooks formed from wire secure the storage device to a belt, however, the hooks do not resist removal of the tool holder from the belt. A tool carrier with clip members is similarly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,499, having a tool insertion portion with side rail members connected by an arcuate end bar. The end bar lies in the same plane as the side rail members. The clip members are connected by a connecting bar, however, the clip members are nonparallel and so the connecting bar is shorter than the distance between the side rail members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,462 teaches a tool holder formed from a single length of wire and having a circular portion for holding a tool. The ends of the wire are bent to form U-shaped portions which receive a belt. Once the tool holder is placed on a belt, however, the U-shaped portions may tilt with respect to the belt when, for example, a worker bends at his waist, thereby providing uneven support for the tool. To remove the holder from a belt, the belt must be unthreaded through the U-shaped portions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,302 teaches a holder formed from a single length of wire for supporting the handle of a container. Similarly to the '462 patent, a user's belt must be unthreaded through loop portions which may also rest unevenly on the belt if the worker bends.
U.S. Pat. No. D-374,604 discloses a design for a tool holder which is made of a bent wire. While this design is useful, it is relatively rigid and cannot rotate or otherwise adjust to the position of the user.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a tool holder that is mounted on a user's belt and resists removal therefrom while also providing additional advantages over known designs.